


Change the Way the Story's Told

by BennyChaos



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-11 10:11:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11712255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BennyChaos/pseuds/BennyChaos
Summary: A "what if Mal had gone ahead with her mother's plan" story. Journey with Carlos as he traverses Auradon and meets various VKs and AKs in an attempt to set right what has gone so wrong.





	1. The Jungle Carlos

_“You really want to do this?”_

_“We have no choice, Ben! Our parents-“_

_“Your parents made their choice, now you make yours."_

_“I want to be… **evil**!"_

 

                Carlos de Vil awoke in a cold sweat, memories echoing in his mind. Somewhere nearby a creature howled a mournful cry to the night. Despite the heat of the jungle, he shivered in his arboreal hiding spot. He’d only been in this wild place on the edge of Auradon for a few days and every hour brought new dangers. He’d already had to scare away a giant snake from his perch earlier in the night.

                Still, it was all better than the alternative.

                Six months ago, during Prince Ben’s coronation, Mal had chosen to fulfill her mother’s plan. The barrier to the Isle of the Lost was gone, and villains poured forth over the unsuspecting kingdoms. The pillaged and burned and did their best to ruin everything good. Maleficent’s reign had begun in fire and destruction. At one point in time it would have been everything Carlos had wanted, but that life had passed away. Now he had chosen a new path and was living with the consequences of choosing good. The most prominent being his current status as a fugitive, but others took the shape of curses and nightmares with angry voices and a sickly green light. Even now he could imagine the sound of a scream echoing in the woods.

                “ _Wait, my imagination isn’t_ that _good_ ,” Carlos thought to himself. He turned his head back and forth searching for the source of the sound. He had managed to sleep through most of the night, and the eastern horizon was just beginning to lighten with the approach of day. He heard a sharp hiss and began to recognize the muffled drone of two familiar voices talking to each other in the undergrowth.

                “ _Jasper and Horace_ ,” the young man thought drearily. His mother’s cronies had followed him since he’d passed through Agrabah two months ago. While he had always managed to escape their clutches, they were adept at staying on his trail. “ _Why can’t I lose you two?_ ”

                “Aw, Jasper, what’d we do to get a bother like this?” the shorter of the men asked, “It’s hot, and it’s dark, and we been trailing the little runt for weeks now!”

                “Horace, I don’ wanna hear about it! If you got the gumption to go all the way back to the castle in Auroria City and tell that dragon lady you don’t like the job, then good like to you, mate!” Jasper growled back as the two lackeys passed under the tree in which Carlos had hid. The teen began to slowly slink down behind the branches, staying on the far side of the trunk from his pursuer.

                “You’re not supposed ta call it that,” Horace responded calmly.

                “Eh?” the skinny man barked as he scanned the trees around them.

                “It’s not ‘Auroria City’ no more. Its Malefiville.”

                “Come off it, no it’s not!” Jasper chided as he glanced down at his brother, “She said it was Malevopolis.”

                “Nah, you’re wrong!” the shorter man shoved Jasper with his shoulder.

                “You nitwit! don’t you start with me tonigh-“Jasper grabbed Horace by the collar and pulled him closer to punch him but stopped abruptly. His brother struggled in the other’s grasp and finally broke away, “Shhh… you hear that?”

                “Hear what?” Horace brushed off his jacket and glared at Jasper.

                Jasper stepped away from Horace and stared into the jungle. He narrowed his eyes at the underbrush where Carlos had managed to reach during the argument. The young boy held his breath and watched terrified as the man searched the woods.

                “I can’t see nothing, hand me the torch.”

The bright light hit Carlos before he could crouch down further. The two men started as the light reflected in his eyes, and he bared his teeth at them. It took a moment for recognition to set in.

                “It’s him, Horace, it’s the little cur!” Jasper nearly dropped the flashlight and grabbed it just as his brother rushed into him. The two fell into a pile, and Carlos bolted from the undergrowth. The fugitive charged off into the woods, “No! no! After him!”

                Having spent most of the night fitfully sleeping wedged in a tree, Carlos was exhausted. He still hurled through the jungle, jumping over roots and fallen logs or weaving in between grasping branches. He didn’t know where he was heading, but thought only of escaping. Even with his lack of sleep and sore body, he realized that his pursuers were in even worse condition. He paused in a clearing for a moment to catch his breath, the sound of Horace and Jasper still in the distance. He turned to continue his escape when in the brightening light of morning he spotted the trap.

                The city life of the Isle was about as far as you could get from this jungle, both literally and figuratively, but Carlos found his instinct for danger was just as sharp in this environment. Back alleys and rickety warehouses held their own surprises that taught the young quickly how to spot trouble before it spotted you. Someone had set up a pit trapped in this small clearing and hastily covered it in large leaves. The leaf arrangement was enough of an oddity that he’d been able to spot the danger, but realized with a shudder how close he’d come to falling in.

                A snap of twigs nearby reminded him of the two men following him. With a deep breath Carlos backed up and then hurled himself across the trap. He thought for a moment he’d misjudged the size of the hole, but thankfully his foot hit solid ground and he gracefully tumbled to safety. With a flourish, he spun around just as Jasper and Horace came crashing into the small clearing.

                “All right, boy, you’ve had your fun,” Jasper spoke in a low, dangerous voice even while breathing heavily, “but now it’s time to come home with us!”

                “You know what...” Carlos said thoughtfully and broke into a smile, “You’re right.”

                “Wha…?” the two men blinked at him.

                “You got me. I can’t out run you so I might as well go with you.”

                Jasper frowned suspiciously, but Horace looked extremely relieved.

                “Finally, a bit o’ luck,” the shorter man said as he stepped forward. His brother’s eyes widened, and Jasper reached forward to grab the other man’s shoulder.

                “Now wait a minute Horaaaaa~aaaace!” Horace broke through the leaf covering of the pit trap, and the taller man lost his balance in his lunge to catch him. The two tumbled down and Carlos leaned over carefully to look at them in a pile down at the bottom.

                “On second thought, I can always outsmart you,” he beamed at them. The young man spun happily around to continue his escape and stopped abruptly as a spear point was jabbed into his face.

                “But what will you do when someone outsmarts you?”


	2. Atlantis: The Lost Carlos

_“You don’t mean it!”_

_“How do you know that?_

_“Because…. Because I’m listening to my heart.”_

_“I can’t listen to my heart.”_

 

 

 

“But what will you do when someone outsmarts you?”

A petite girl carrying herself with an air of authority threatened Carlos with a spear held in her hands. He stared into her dark angry eyes and noted a large brown birthmark on her right cheek that stood out in sharp contrast to her pale blonde, almost white hair. She was clearly comfortable with the polearm and, while quite dexterous, Carlos was sure from the look in her eyes that he wouldn’t be able to dodge out of the way before being skewered by the weapon.

“Uhhh… hi,” he drawled out with his hands up, eyes darting between the nearby blade and the girl’s face, “I’m Ca-“

“Carlos de Vil!” another female voice said to his right. A taller girl sporting hair pulled into a high ponytail emerged from the woods. She carried a small pouch in her hands and glowered at the boy.

“Oh! You’re… uhh… Ja…Jenny?” Carlos said recognizing her as a student from Auradon Prep.

“It’s Jordan,” the daughter of Genie replied in a low, unimpressed tone, “Not that I would expect you to remember it. You and your friends were only at school for what… a week before you ruined the world?”

“Hey we… well… I didn’t… I mean, I…” Carlos babbled in a weak defense. There was so much that Jordan didn’t understand, that no one understood about what had happened. Carlos didn’t know where to begin or if he even wanted to defend himself.

“None of this matters, Jordan. We should throw him into the hole with the other two and leave them for the wolves to find,” the smaller lithe warrior said to her partner.

“W-w-w-wolves?” Carlos asked as his paled in horror.

Jordan raised an eyebrow at him, but then turned to the spear wielder, “I don’t know, Kiera. He’s the son of Cruella. Maybe we can use him in a hostage exchange?”

“Don’t feed us to the wolves, neither!” came the voice of Horace from the hole, “We’re her henchmen.”

“I don’t think my mother would care about any of us,” Carlos said with a frown on his face, “Definitely not me. I’m a ‘traitor to evil and all the wicked ways.’”

“Oh, way harsh,” Jordan said in a deadpan tone.

“Yeah, I mean, there’s so many ways to be wicked, how could I be a traitor to all of them?” the young man said before realizing the genie was teasing him, “Oh… nevermind.”

Kiera looked between the two of them and frowned, “I am confused. Does he want us to throw him in the hole? Is he useless or valuable?”

“I can be useful! I can so be useful, pleasedon’tleavemetothewolves.”

Jordan stepped towards Carlos and for a moment he was afraid she was just going to shove him over the edge. Instead she pulled something from the bag in her hand and flung it out over the hole. A sparkling dust twinkled in the air as it slowly floated down into the dark of the pit trap. Several thumps could be heard as the two captives scrambled about in the tight space attempting to avoid it.

“Magic sleeping pixie dust,” Jordan explained to the de Vil, “They’ll be out through the afternoon.”

“What! No! Don’ leave us down here!”

“Forget it, Horace!” Jasper said sharply even as he started to yawn and rub his eyes, “They won’t get away with this. Leaving us here will be their last regret!”

Kiera prodded Carlos with her weapon again and jerked her head, “You are coming with us. I will decide if you are useful later.”

 “Yes ma’am,” Carlos nodded as the spear moved away from his chest, and he followed the girl into the woods, “Who died and made her queen?”

“Princess, and her mom’s still alive,” Jordan responded quietly.

“What?”

She made a face at Carlos before explaining, “That is Kiera Nedakh-Thatch, Princess of Atlantis.”

“So, she’s one of Ariel’s sisters?” Carlos asked fully confused. The princess in question was stalking carefully through the forest, constantly scanning for any sign of movement in the deep undergrowth.

“Atlantis, not Atlantica. It’s not a part of Aurodan, but Kiera here was lucky enough to be at Ben’s coronation when your friend Mal’s mother decided to crash the party. We managed to escape the chaos and have been on the run ever since,” Jordan informed him as the two trailed behind.

“So, she’s like a warrior princess?” Carlos asked as he looked at Jordan. He turned back to watch his step and realized Kiera had vanished, “Where did she…?”

“Yes, I am a warrior and a princess. I also like lizards, riding my ketak, my favorite color is yellow, I am a transwoman, and I could stab you through your little black heart just like the fish I used to hunt with my mother before I was trapped in this horrible land by your people,” Kiera’s voice rattled off just behind Carlos’s ear. He jumped and turned to see the girl staring at him blankly. She smiled a wide grin that did not reach her eyes and then dropped the expression immediately, “No more questions. Jordan, blind fold him.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Carlos said to the princess as she walked by him, but his comment fell on deaf ears. He looked to Jordan who smiled and held up a piece of cloth, “I am not working for Maleficent!”

“Sorry, Checkerboard. Her Highness has spoken.”

 

* * *

 

The group walked through the dense jungle for what felt like most of the day to Carlos. He had attempted to mark their progress in his head but quickly gave up on keeping track of either time or direction. Mercifully, Kiera took them on an easy to travel trail as Jordan guided the blinded boy. He only tripped on roots or uneven ground a few times before they stopped.

The blindfold came off and Carlos blinked in the suddenly bright light. He rubbed his eyes and took stock of his surroundings. The trio had arrived in a small rocky valley with steep hills to either side. A small group of people were busily moving about the area on various tasks. He saw a young man and woman carrying a deer they had killed to a cooking fire. Several older individuals were patching large pieces of fabric that matched the various shoddy tents he saw set up on one side of the valley.

“What is this place?” he asked Jordan.

“Sanctuary. For now. Kiera and I have managed to find and help a lot of people,” the girl responded as she nudged him forward, “There’s still so many others that we couldn’t do anything for…”

“Jordan, please do not tell the spy everything about our operation,” Kiera said as she turned around suddenly to face them. She narrowed her eyes at the former Villain Kid.

“I’m not a spy! Maleficent and my mother hate me! That’s why they’ve been chasing me!”

“Conveniently close to our far off hideaway,” the girls cheeked flushed in rage, turning her large birthmark an even darker brown, “I have no reason to believe you. I saw your friend Mal hand over the wand to her mother when she arrived at Auradon Cathedral. I watched as she chose evil and the rest of you followed behind her like the bad little minions you are. You may not serve Maleficent, but you certainly do follow her daughter.”

“NO! No not…. Not anymore,” Carlos said, choking up as tears welled up in his eyes. The he breathed out a whisper “Not after… not after what they did to Evie.”

The rage in Kiera’s eyes lost most of its fire at his sudden display of emotion. Carlos stared back and thought that maybe this was the first time the Atlantean really looked at him. He was a skinny young man with torn up dirty clothes and a haunted look in his eyes. While her expression towards Carlos may have softened, the young woman’s voice was still as hard as steel when she commanded, “Take him to a tent and set up a guard. But… make sure he gets something to eat. You look half starved.”

A little time later, Carlos found himself in one of the patched tents. The contents were sparse, just a soft blanket to sleep on and a crude stool to sit on. They were the most luxurious accommodations he had had in ages, made even better by the food one of his guards had just brought in. As soon as they left, he began to woof down the food with his bare hands. He was so engrossed in his meal he didn’t notice the tent flap move.

“Whoa, you were hungry,” Jordan said, eyes wide as the boy ravenously ate the bit of meat and mashed vegetables.

“Urk, uhh…” Carlos swallowed hard and set the plate down on the stool. He started wiping his face off and blushed, “Yeah. It’s been hard finding food. I’m not very picky, but I grew up in a city. Almost killed myself with some berries last week. It was… not pretty.”

“Hmm…” the taller girl said as she sat down beside of him, “Yeah, I’m use to palaces and prep schools myself. Kiera’s good at that stuff, and we’ve got a few huntsmen with us that are amazing.”

“Cool,” Carlos said with no idea how else to respond. The two sat in awkward silence for a moment.

“So, what happened?” Jordan suddenly began, “You say that you’re not on Mal’s side anymore. What happened in between her stealing Fairy Godmother’s wand and me finding you standing over a pit trap?”

“Ha, that’s a long story,” Carlos said with a grin on his face. He stared at her for a moment before the smile fell from his face, “Oh, you’re serious.”

“Yes, I’m serious! The world is covered in darkness and villainy, and I need to know why we shouldn’t take you back out and really leave you to the wolves,” her eyebrow rose again as she watched Carlos wince at her words, “And what’s with you freaking out over wolves? Is it because they’re related to…”

“Don’t say it!”

“..dogs?” Jordan leaned back as the boy seized up for a moment and every muscle in his body seemed to tense, “What the heck, Carlos?! I thought you were over your…..cynophobia.”

Carlos sighed heavily as his whole body sagged. He looked mournfully over at her. It was like someone had snuffed out a fire.

“It’s because of a curse,” he explained, “Maleficent cursed me, and now I am afraid of dogs. I can’t be anywhere near them.”

“What about Dude? And what did you do exactly to make her so mad?” Jordan said as she reached out to pat his shoulder.

“I had to get away fast. I don’t know what happened to D-dude,” he stuttered on the name as he thought of his lost friend, “Maleficent didn’t like that we spoke out against her.”

“’We’?” Jordan asked.

“Evie. And me. But mostly Evie,” Carlos continued, “We all went along with Mal’s plan at first. I don’t think any of us gave Auradon much of a thought when her mother first told us to get the wand to set her free. We never thought for a moment that we’d ever be able to belong.

But then things changed. And then they unchanged, but we had still changed. I can’t explain it. We stood by Mal because she was one of us, but eventually Evie just couldn’t take all the terrible stuff that was happening. Not to our new friends. Not even to other people. She finally snapped, but Maleficent over heard and she’s… and Evie iss…..”

Carlos let out the sob that had been gathering in his chest as he stuttered out his story. Jordan, tear in her own eyes, leaned over and hugged the boy.

“… she’s gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not going to have a lot of original characters, but for some reason I really wanted to include a child of Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire since I think she’s an interesting person. Kiera’s birthmark is modeled after a dancer in the background of Descendants 2 in the boat scenes.   
> Also, as a gay cisman I worry about properly portraying transgender characters (Kiera is only my second) so I am always happy to take comments and suggestions from my trans brothers, sisters, and siblings out there in the writing world on ways to improve. She’s not going to have a huge role in the story, but I’ve grown quite fond of her as she’s developed in my head.


End file.
